“I’ve seen the stories about Goodwillie and Kenneth,” he said.

“All I’ll say is they’re a load of rubbish.”

The Bloomfield Road side were linked with imposing centre-half Kenneth in January as they fought for promotion to English football’s top flight.

A bid of £100,000 was eventually rejected by United and described by chairman Stephen Thompson as “an insult”.

And, although they went down 2-1, Houstie felt Falkirk only got the better of a strong United side thanks to the fact the Bairns’ season starts on Saturday.

He said, “We might have lost the game 2-1, but we dominated for long spells and the only thing that Falkirk had over us was the fact they are further on in their preparations.

“I’m absolutely delighted with the game yesterday. The lads all got 90 minutes and I did that deliberately because it’s the first full game they’ve had.

“I’ve always said results don’t matter during pre-season, whether we’re winning three or four nothing or losing by the same margin — it’s all about fitness at this stage and the boys worked their socks off.

“We were a bit unfortunate to lose, but it shows us exactly what we’ve still got to work on.”

Conway came through the full 90 minutes unscathed after picking up a dead leg in United’s weekend friendly against Polish battlers Arka Gdynia.

Fellow-dead leg victim Jon Daly also played the full game.

Meanwhile, although speculation over Conway refuses to die down, Houstie said no further contact had been made by Middlesbrough.

“There were no further discussions between the clubs, so everything is as it was.

“If Middlesbrough want to speak to Craig Conway, they’ll have to meet our valuation.

“Aside from that, both Conway and Daly played the full 90 minutes against Falkirk. I had guys like Scott Robertson and Danny Cadamarteri on the bench as a precaution, but didn’t have to use them.”

The players who missed out on the Falkirk match will play tonight in another closed-door match against Queen’s Park at Hampden.

Ross McCord and Dale Hilson (pen.). netted for a United XI. in a 2-2 draw away to East Fife.

An initial scan failed to pinpoint the problem and a follow up was similarly inconclusive, meaning the 22-year-old’s rehabilitation has been handled on a “wait and see” basis.

Dens team boss Gordon Chisholm today expressed his frustration at the loss of a player he sees as a key part of his defence for next season.

“It’s disappointing, but I know for a fact that disappointment’s shared by the player. He’s absolutely devastated,” he said.

“For a player to join a new club looking for a fresh start, and to get to pre-season training and pay the price for pushing himself a wee bit too hard, is a tough one to take.

“With such a small squad here we need everybody. We can’t afford to carry any injuries, so it’s frustrating and disappointing for both parties.”

He also revealed Shimmin is doubtful for Saturday’s Alba Challenge Cup clash against Alloa, though it’s hoped he can recover in time for the all-important first league game against QOS at Dens on August 7.

“Dominic’s extremely doubtful for the weekend, though he is progressing.

“I’d like to think he’ll be back for the first league game. The second scan we got showed up exactly the same as the first, with no obvious problem, so we’ve just got to keep working with him and hope he’ll start running again soon.”

Meanwhile, there was better news on the goalkeeping front as Rab Douglas came through his 45 minutes against Arbroath with no problems and is now back in full training.

“Rab is definitely back in contention now. However, I want competition for places and I’ve got that among the keepers. So it’s up to the big man to show me I should be playing him.”

Davidson was signed this time last year from Livingston and was a revelation in his first season with Saints.

Manager Derek McInnes summed it up when he said, “Murray had a great season.

“He made the jump to the SPL so easily.

“As we had just been promoted from the First Division, he had to break into a successful team and that’s just exactly what he did.

“And, once he forced his way in he stayed, apart from the odd time I left him out.

“He’s only a young lad, yet he did really well and I have no doubt he has a big future. Having made a great start to his Saints career last season, Murray can now kick on this season. He really has exciting times to look forward to.”

Arbroath are managed by former Saint Paul Sheerin and they have a number of other ex-Saints players in their ranks.

One of them is central defender Stuart Malcolm, one of three players recently signed by the Red Lichties. He’s likely to feature tonight along with the other new boys, David McGowan and Jordyn Sheerin.

However, the Gayfield side have a fitness doubt over Robbie Ross and they’ve transfer-listed Kevin Milne.

Paul is looking forward to meeting up with his former colleagues.

He said, “This is another important test for us as our next match is the cup game against Dunfermline. It will be good to meet up with some familiar faces.

“I know it will add a wee bit of spice to the game.”